Grain-tally



UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

WILLIAM THORNTON, OF TRENT, IOWA.

GRAIN-TALLY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,635, dated April20, 1880.

Application filed January il, 1880.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM THORNTON, ofTrent, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented-a GrainMeter and Register, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to save time and labor and insure accuracyin measuring grain and registering the quantity as it passes 4from aseparator, elevator-wagon, or wherever it is moved by gravitation fromone place to another through a tubular conveyer.

It consists in a box-measure adapted to be connected with a conveyerhaving cut-offs operated by levers, a cam-groove, and a crank, and aregister consisting of three dial-faced disks that are actuated by meansof ratchets, pawls, and cams, and the same crank and motion of theoperator that moves the measuring cut-offs, as hereinafter fully setforth.

Figure I of my drawings is a vertical sectional view ot' my combinedmeter and register. Fig. 2 is a side view, showing the registeringmechanism. Fig. 3 is a front view, in which the facing and hinged doorare removed to show the mechanism that operates the cutofts andregistering-dials. Fig. et is a side face view, showing the relativepositions of the several registering-disks. Together they clearlyillustrate the construction, application, and operation of my completeinvention.

a a represent a box of rectangular form, made of wood or other suitablematerial, in any suitable way, so as to produce a tight, stronghalf-bushel box-form measure. bis the mouth of the measuring-box. It isadapted in shape to connect with. a grain-conveyer, c, to which mycomplete apparatus is to be attached by means of setscrews or any othersuitable fastening device. d is the lower end and throat of themeasuring-box. f is an auxiliary box formed on the side ofthebox-measure c a. g is a cani wheel or cylinder mounted in the box f. his a cam-groove in the periphery of the wheel.

7c represents a bent lever pivoted to the side of the auxiliary box f.It is attached at its lower end to a cut-oft, No. 1.' 7c is acorresponding bent lever, that is pivoted at the oppositel side of thebox f, and is connected with a cut-off, No, 2. These cut-cfs slidehorizontally in bearings formed in or attached to the measuringbox a. ll are cams that projectinward from the center of each bent lever 7c andk to engage the cam-groove h in the wheel g. l is a cam projectingoutward from the lever 7c to operate a revolving disk, o, that has atively brought into juxtaposition, to denotev units, teils, andhundreds, as the wheel g is revolved, by means ct the crank s to measureand register grain.

t represents a movable section in the rear side ofthe rectangular boxa.. It is adapted to be set in and out, so that the capacity of themeasuring-box a can be enlarged or diminished, as required, to measuredifferent kinds ot' grain correctly.

a represents a window in the side otthe mouth b of the measuring-box a.a is a 1inger extending' from the disk 0 to engage a ratchet-wheel thatis formed on the rear side of the revolving dial r. This ratchet hasalso a nger that engages a ratchet and pinion, c, mating with a pinion,c", that is adapted to operate the dial y.

` b" and c are spring-pawls that engage the ratchets and prevent areverse or backward movement of `the revolving registering-dials o, r,and y.

In the practical operation of my invention, when attached to a spout ortubular conveyer, the dials can be adjusted by means of the crank s, orby reaching the hand in through the door to take hold of the dials andratchets, so that the ciphers of all the revolving dials will becontiguous to each other and in a horizontal line. The cut-offs Nos. land 2 can be opened and closed by means of the same crank. Vhen thecombined meter and register is properly adjust-ed the grain can readilyvfall into the measure and till it. When full the operator can, byturning the crank s once around, cause the wheel gto revolve, and, bymeans of its cam-groove h and the cams l Z upon the levers It' lo, closethe cut-off No. 2 and open the cut-oft' No. 1. A half-bushel of IOOgrain is thus allowed to pass from the conveyer into a sack or otherreceptacle. The same motion of the operator, simultaneously With themeasuring of the grain, causes the disk or dial o to make one-twentiethpart of a revolution. 'lhis is occasioned by the cam l upon the lever lcoperating the lever on, carrying a pawl, n, at its upper end, thatengages one of the twenty ratchet-teeth on the edge of the disk. Vhen asecond half-bushel of grain has been measured and passed, and a secondrevolution made by the crank s, and a second one-twentieth part of arevolution made by the dial o, the numeral 1 will be broughtinto lineWith the ciphers of the disks r and y, and will indicate that onebushel. has been measured. When the tenth bushel is thus registered the`finger co" of the dial 0 will rotate the dial fr one-tenth ot' arevolution, and thus the gure l of the dial r and the cipher of the dial0 will be brought together toindicate that ten 10) bushels have beenmeasured and passed. Every successive half-bushel and bushel will bethus accurately measured and registered by the operator turning thecrank` around once each time the half-bushel measure is full untilninety-nine bushels have passed. When the one-hundredth bushel is passeda tin ger on the rear side of the dial and ratchet r, that en gagestheratchet and pinionv o, mating with the pinion fu, moves the dial g/one-tenth part of a revolution, and brings its ligure l in line with theciphers of the dials o and r, as required, yto denote that one hundred(100) b'ushels have been measured and passed.

Units, tens, and hundreds of bushels of grain are thus automatically andaccurately measured and registered by mechanism, and much labortherebysaved, and the mistakes incident to various Ways of counting, marking,and tallying are avoided.

To lock the cylinder g, and thereby hold all the parts inoperative, Ipress the hook z into a perforation formed in the cylinder or Wheel g.

I claiinl. In a grain-meter, the measuring-box a b c, having cut-offsNos. l and 2 at the top and bottom, the auxiliary box f, the Wheel g,having a crank-handle, s, and a cam-groove, 7L, and the pivoted bentlevers 7c and 7c, each khaving a stud or cam, l, arranged and combinedsubstantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.`

2. The combined ratchet-Wheel and dial: 0, mounted inthe box j', thelever 7c, having a cam, l, and the pivoted lever m, carrying a pawl, a,at its upper end,y arranged and cornbined substantially asl and for thepurposes shown and described.

3. The combined grain meter and register composed of the fol-lowingelements, to wit: the measuring-box a b 0the cu't-ols-v Nos. I and 2,the auxiliary boxf, the grooved cam-- Wheel g, having a crank-handle, s,the pivoted levers k, a stud. or cam, 1f, the pivoted lever k", havingstuds or cams l and l on its opposite' sides, the pivoted lever m,carrying a p'awl, a, and the combined ratchet-wheels and dials o, mandy, substantially as shown and described', to operate in the manner setforth.

WILLIAM THORNTON.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. HEERs, A. G. KINGSBURY.

